Donald George Schmidt, age 60, of Milwaukee, Wis., formerly of Alden, died

Sunday, May 11, 2003, at the Zablocki Medical Center in Milwaukee of heart failure.

Funeral services will be 10:30 a.m. Thursday, May 15, at the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Wells. The Rev. Meg Sander will officiate. Visitation will be Wednesday, May 14, at the Bruss-Heitner Funeral Home in Wells from 5-7 p.m., and one hour prior to services at the church on Thursday. Interment will be in Rosehill Cemetery in Wells. Military honors will be by the Alden American Legion Post.

He was born July 19, 1942, in Albert Lea, the son of George W. and Alice (Brandenburg) Schmidt.

Donald graduated from Alden High School, the class of 1960. He was in the U.S. Army from 1960-1969 and was stationed in Germany for five years as Staff Sgt. After his honorable discharge, he graduated from the University of Illinois with a degree in recreational therapy, and worked at the VA Hospital in Milwaukee as a recreational therapist. For the past 10 years he was employed by Luther Manor in Milwaukee as a maintenance specialist. He was on the board of directors for the Wisconsin PVA (Paralyzed Veteran’s Association) for over a decade.

He is survived by his father, George W. Schmidt of Wells; two Sisters: Gloria and her husband Jerry Zeller of Edisto Beach, S.C., and Nancy and her husband Gary Watts of North Mankato; three nieces: Nanette and her husband Rocky Trail of Albert Lea, Michelle and her husband Rob Ball of Minnetrista, Minn., and Sara Zeller and her husband Jim Bolin of South Riding, Va.; three nephews: Roger Watts of Fort Bragg, N.C., Mitchell Watts of North Mankato, and Todd Zeller of Chicago, Ill.; two great-nephews: Dustin and Brayden Trail; one great-niece, Ashley Trail; and several aunts, uncles and cousins.

He was preceded in death by one sister, Mary Jane Olson, in 1985; and his mother, Alice Schmidt, in 1997.

In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred to the American Heart Association and the American Cancer Society.